We planned this backpack trip to Glacier to sync up with my neice's wedding in Columbia Heights.  So, it wasn't until July that I started contemplating where we could go. Luckily, I was able to get backcountry permits for the times that would work out for us. 

Our trip itinerary was pretty laid back because of what we could reserve as far as campsites.

Itinerary:
9/3 (Friday):  Kinta Lake  6.8 miles (no elev) drive to Polebride/drop off vehicle at Bowman
9/4:  Upper Kintla  5.8 miles (no elev)
9/5:  Boulder Pass  5.8 miles (2,880 elev)   
9/6:  Hole in the Wall   4.5 (190 up/1090 down)
9/7:  Lake Francis (250 up/1385 down)
9/8: out 15.0 miles (995 up/2323 down)

The Weather
The weather was not looking like a usual Indian Summer, but 'unseasonally cool'. 'Unseasonally' is a term used rather loosely in Montana, since a seasonal norm can fluctuate 80 degrees in a matter of days. Being prepared for anything is the best way to approach Montana. Knowing we could face a bit of weather seemed to add to the excitement of the trip, especially as the winter snow advisory for the higher elevations of our trip set in. 

We arrived in Kalispell from Beaverton mid-afternoon and stopped by for the usual trip to the Sportsman's to get a few items (light shoes for me and a watch). Then we stopped by brother Dale's and visited for a bit - everyone there was very excited for the wedding.  We'd see them again on Saturday. 

The North Fork

My first memories of the North Fork stemmed from big bro Randy's visits up there back in the '70's when I was little and impressionable. I don't know much about his expeditions up the North Fork (probably for the best) except for something about him building a secret log cabin in the woods, lots of fishing stories and an almost lovesick way he sounded every time he spoke of the North Fork.  Back then, the journey 'up the North Fork' invoked a remote wildness with an overtone of a rough and tumble crowd, who only ventured to town when it meant food, medicine or liquor. My first trip to Polebridge was via school bus sometime in the '70's for a field trip which included a picnic at Bowman Lake. 


The road has changed. I was looking forward to the washboarded, dust-clouded, logging truck filled road that created a memorable if not somewhat miserable 3 hour journey up to Polebridge.  While the road still bit of it's prior dust and washboard surface, it was nothing like it used to be and I was a bit disappointed.  However, not as much as I was when we hit a paved portion - horror, the North Fork road paved. It was just for a portion so not quite so bad.  Ah well, I lamented the past a bit, then perked up when I noticed I suddenly had the ability to take a deep, clean breath.  I forgave 'progress', at least a little.  

The Shuttle Plan
Our 6-day trip would start at Kintla Lake and end up at Bowman Lake which made a horseshoe starting from the western point of the horseshoe.  So, since it wasn't a loop, we needed to arrange to be dropped off at Kintla and have a rig at Bowman when we came out.  The two lakes are 22 very bumpy and rut-filled dirt miles apart. 

Thankfully, our friend Hank had agreed to take the day off and provide us with the shuttle up to Kintla.  He would meet us at Polebridge at 9:00 am.  (He seemed quite happy to get a day off work to head up the North Fork.)  So, we headed down from my sister's up in West Valley - McManamy Draw bright and early and just in time to see a beautiful sunrise in the distance. The park peaks  in the distance were snowcapped, pink in the early morning light.

We soon arrived at Apgar, about 30 miles away and found a place to get our mandatory soy capuccinos and the last we'd have for a week and headed up the Camas road. Fog had rolled in and it was cool, but had the feeling of being a temporary situation.  The forecast was for 70's for the day so we knew it would burn off.  

We enjoyed the drive up the North Fork, few cars, beautiful scenery and closer with each mile to our adventure. 

The 'Merc
I don't know for sure what it is about Polebridge - maybe it's my childhood memories of this wild, remote place that was my brother's second home or maybe just a love for a place that was still like the old wild west.  I love this place. 

The Polebridge Mercantile, or the 'Merc as it's known locally is a must stop, even if it is the only store in Polebridge. You don't need a key for the restroom here, just a coat maybe since it's the outhouse in the back of the store.  The pastry shelves were full of amazing fresh baked decadence. We opted for a coffee and split a Huckleberry Bear Claw (seemed fitting)! 

Hank pulled up shortly - right on time.  He had brought his neighbor Vance for company.  The sun was now out and the fog was nearly gone with clear blue skies taking over and the crisp morning air making way for the perfect Indian Summer day. 

We chatted for a bit - ended up I actually worked at the Forest Service the same time that Vance had - small world.  Ah, how good it was to be home where I could run into absolute strangers who weren't.   

We headed to the Park Ranger (permit) office and checked in and got our permits.  Dan watched the mandatory backpacker's video at the Ranger Station and we admired the beautiful ranger station building. 

We were soon on our way to Bowman Lake to drop off our vehicle. The weather was totally clear and short sleeve temp.  We made it to Bowman Lake in what seemed like no time, probably 30 minutes and enjoyed the scenery, Hank pointing out the various mountains we could climb and their class ratings.  

Transferring our packs to Hank's truck we were off to Kintla.  It was a rough road and no cars on the road.  Vance pointed out all of the ranges, the fires and different interesting facts about the area since he knew it like the back of his hand since he had worked here during his thirty-some-odd years at the Forest Service.  A great feeling of being away from it all came over me and I was ecstatic.  The range where we were headed soon came into view when we stopped at  Big Prairie.  What a majestic view.  Taking it all in, we climbed back into the truck and ate up more of the rut-filled road and were finally at Kintla at about 1:00. 



Day 1 - Kintla Lake Head
We geared up, said our goodbye's to Vance and Hank and were off.  We had a short hike ahead of us.  The hike was pleasant, the lake was beautiful (my first time to Kintla!).  Our packs were pretty heavy for us (mine was 50 lbs. I figured), but I had to get the cards and my book in there!

Right off the bat, we spotted bear scat. Well scat is the official word, but it didn't really do it justice:  this 'scat' appeared to measure about 2 feet by 1 foot and about 5 inches high.  Putting a positive slant on the siutation, I interpreted the massize pile as an indication of a well fed, stuffed, happy bear who would have absolutely no interest in a couple of spindly vegans.  It was a bit unnerving even though we were prepared for bears close by. My hand didn't stray too far from my holster of bear spray, nonetheless.

Ready for lunch, we found a perfect beach.  We had plenty of time to get to camp:  the hike at 6.8 miles was just right for the day. The lake views with the aqua color and clarity that was unreal brought us close to the beauty we were now a part of. Each step removed us from civilization and both Dan and I loved the feeling.  


We were now yards from camp. An impossibly huge pile of scat appeared in the middle of trail, looking way too fresh for me, and with an oddd purple-hue from what seemed to be from gallons of huckleberries.  Again, I told myself a full bear is a happy bear and this one seemed to be eating very well.  That said, he was eating very well, very close to camp it seemed, so that added a bit of a flavor to our trip.



We arrived at the campground at about 5:00.  One other couple was there who had canoed in.  We had a great visit with them; they had seen the bear from their canoe, but he got scared once he spotted them - which was a good sign.  Dan called it an early evening and I stayed and watched the sunset on the lake. 


Day 2 - Hike to Upper Kintla Lake - 5.8 miles:

Our day began at about 4:30 am with the sound of something digging outside our tent (not a good feeling).  We quietly maneuvered to get our bear spray ready in case, and also got our running shoes on. We weren't sure what to do, so we opted to be at the ready, but quiet and hope whatever it was left.  We are very, very cautious backpackers - following the rules to a 't', so we knew we'd taken every precaution not to attract attention.  After about 30 minutes, it left.  We managed to get back to sleep.  When we got up, we saw that there was a log outside our tent rolled over (a large one) and evidence of digging - so assumed it was a bear.  The night had been very warm - probably only down to 50 degrees are so. 


The morning was beautiful and we took our time packing up camp, since we knew we had a very easy day ahead of us.  We chatted with our fellow campers (another family had come in very late, in the dark which is a story in and of itself) and then headed out on the trail at about 11:00 am.


The hike was gorgeous.  Great weather again although not as warm as yesterday, somewhere in the low 70's.  Stunning views. 

We arrived at the camp as the wind was picking up - which didn't surprise us as they were predicting a large storm rolling in the following night.  We set up camp, explored the lake and watched the sunset after dinner.  Another great day.

Day 3 - Hike to Boulder Pass - 5.8 miles (2880 elev gain):
My journal entry reads "I am actually writing this at Hole in the Wall because I couldn't keep my hands outside gloves or my sleeping back long enough to write this at Boulder Pass because it was COLD!"

We left Upper Kintla at 9:00 am, after a calm morning, glassy lake.

 

It was cloudy but not too cold.  But it seemed like rain was mounting.  So we decided to get an early start up the pass.  Which was a good decision.





We got up at about 6:30 am to leave by 9:00.  It started to rain soon after we started hiking and so put on rain gear at the footbridge just out of camp. 




The hike started it's uphill - gradual climb, pretty quickly.  It got us right up so that we could look down on the lake and the campground. Snow had dusted the top peaks, giving the mountains incredible definition.



Continued a bit further, soaking it all in and then stopped for lunch in a clearing where a forest fire had been through.  We found a great rock to sit on and were able to see around us. We ended up taking off some of our rain gear because we got hot. 

Shortly after lunch it started to lightly hail/sleet. We continued on and stopped in a little grove of trees to get our rain gear back on.  Then we hit some nice switchbacks and the sleet/hail mix continued.  When we got up a bit, it started turning into snow, wet at first and then bona-fide big light snowflakes.


We met some guys on the trail from CO and another party just coming from Northern CA.  They said they saw a grizzly and 3 cubs that morning by the food prep area at BP.  The bears just kept moving through like nothing doing. We continued on - not really noticing the elevation gain - which was steady - but rather in fascination on the landscape change that was happening before our eyes:  fields of wildflowers getting frosted by snowflakes, an eery quiet hoving over us, really kind of magical.  The snow wasn't sticking - at least yet.  Dan arrived at the top and then was glad that we had cairns showing the way to the campground.




We set up tent quickly since it wasn't letting up and it was quite cold.  No one else around at this point.  We were glad we did just that.  We decided to get warm in the tent and let the storm pass which is what it did. As soon as the storm passed we peaked outside our tent and found a winter wonderland. 

We explored the snow-covered world with awe.  The storm had seemed to roll off to the distance.  The view from the 'plein air' (nice french words for toilet-seat-on-wooden-box) privvy was stunning.From this snow-covered perch, you could take in the entire range below along with the sunset, really a sight to behold.  I had wondered over to the cook area when I heard Dan whistling. Since I had never heard him whistle at me before, I knew something was up and was hoping it wasn't something that had black or brown fur.  It wasn't, but rather white fur:  while he was watching the amazing view from the plein air privvy a mountain goat had visited him.  At first Dan quickly grabbed for his camera (in Glacier, you never are without it), then when the friendly fellow got closer and closer and Dan noticed his pointed horns, Dan got a bit nervous.  Mr. Goat seemed to be interested in checking everything out and wasn't too concerned with our presence.



The snow had left a frosted lace effect on the mountains, providing definition and depth that wasn't there before.  It was quiet too.  Eerily quiet...the way snow seemed to dampen the environment it covered, even though there were really no sounds to speak of before, it was even more quiet in it's newly snow-blanketed state.

We had dinner and bundled up for the evening's sleep.  A couple had came into camp after us, but kept to themselves. 

We knew with the bit of clearing that it would be dipping down in the 20's for the evening.  So, layered up and glad I had brought my sleeping bag liner, we settled down for a cold night. 

We slept well and woke up in time to see the sunrise out the tent.  The temperature read about 28 degrees, but it felt colder.  We stayed in bed for a bit, planning our morning sequence of activities so that no extra time would need to be spent standing around.  Soon it warmed up to above freezing which posed a problem, because all of the sudden the condensation that had frozen on the tent walls began to drip down on us.  Worried about wet sleeping bags we packed up quickly, our plan was suddenly made for us.  We made record time packing up our gear and made breakfast.  We were on our way - hating to leave Boulder and the magic that we experienced here.



We headed out, climbing up out of the rock landscape that still was snow covered.  The setting had reminded me of Fred Flinstone's Bedrock.  Because of my love for rock, I think this will always be a memorable place for me.

Dan picked out the trail - I'm not entirely sure how - but he did mentioned that he was thankful that he had tracks to follow from the couple that had left before us.  Picking our trail over Boulder Pass was eerie.  It was a moonscape with snow, every where we looked was a unique and new landscape.  



We had plenty of time to make it to Hole in the Wall and it was good.  We enjoyed ourselves every step taking in the magestic beauty the marriage of the rugged mountains and the touch of winter had provided for us. 

We soon came to a path seemingly made out of the steps of rocks in the side of the mountain and marked by cairns.  We came to the edge of the rock and the view was now the hanging valley of Hole in the Wall directly below us.  We were able to see the path in the edge of the mountain that would lead use to our next night's lodging.

We made our way down the scenery changing for a rock-laden pathway to a high alpine snow covered mountain side to a greening landscape where the snow had changed to water.  Entering the valley of the Hole in the Wall took us down a path which highlighted it's stunning hanging cliffs and gardens lush with green and now we seemed to be a world away from the moonscape of Boulder Pass.

Arriving at Hole in the Wall we were greeted by a couple of rangers who were working on a project to replace the outhouse that had been taken out by an avalanche the previous winter. We soon found our site, and set up camp, right next to a crystal clear stream, with Montanan river rock. 

The storm had cleared somewhat, leaving churning clouds dotting the sky, threatening but not delivering another barrage of precip.  We chatted with the rangers and took in the amazing surroundings that the hanging valley afforded.  Other than the rangers, we had the campground to ourselves, presumably because the severe weather had thwarted others from venturing to the high country.

The garden-like appearance of the area seemed to be Disney-esquein it's perfect presentation of a glacial valley.  I soaked in the fresh smell of the pine, earth and fresh air.  The night was cold but without rain.  Our next day was an easy hike to Francis Lake.

We took our time packing up and were on our way up out of Hole in the Wall and then down into Francis Lake.  The trail from the campground made its way up to the main trail while providing us a view of the waterfall across from the campground as well as views down towards Bowman Lake.  Magestic.  The weather continued to hold for us, even bringing us bursts of welcome sunshine.  We soon were in th opening of the saddle of Brown's Pass.  Then down into the trail to Lake Francis.  We soon were upon Thunderbird Pond, the mountains in the background showing off their fresh layer of snow....

A short jaunt and we were at our destination.  We set up camp at Lake Francis.  Again, no other campers - we had the place to ourselves. 


It was a beautiful day at Lake Francis.  We took a brief hike towards Janet and hopefully to Goat Haunt, but between the brushy trail and the very large grizzly tracks on the trail, we thought better of it and headed back to Lake Francis to relax a bit. 

The next day was a decision:  we were having so much fun that we thought we could get up early and either 1) head all of the way out and go up to Waterton and stay at the Prince of Wales Hotel (since we didn't make it to Goat Haunt) and hike in the area or hike out to Bowman Lake Head as our itinerary called for.  In the morning we decided to get up and head all of the way out.  I had already been to Bowman Lake and since there wouldn't be alot more to see along the lake, we decided to get all of the way out.  That would mean 15 miles out and down Browns Pass. 

The day was beautiful and we got some great views down Brown's Pass.

The trail out became a bit of a mud slog due to the precip over the past few days, but we felt lucky since we had a really pleasant day.  We passed two guys on the trail who were heading into Hole in the Wall. We wished them well, answered questions they had of us and proceeded on. We stopped for a brief rest at Bowman Head campground and then proceeded out to our car. 

The lake seemed really long at that point - even though the ground was level, we were tiring.
We made it out around 4:00, a bit tired but no worse for the wear.  We headed to the Northern Lights Cafe to toast our amazing adventure and plan our last few days in the park.